Quick and robust method for trace determination of MeHg in rice and rice products without derivatisation

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Epidemiology of Lumpy Skin Disease in Egypt between 2006 and 2018

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) is a notifiable vector-borne disease transmitted by blood-feeding insects affecting cattle populations. LSD is a severe disease that is leading to economic losses. In this study, we displayed the prevalence of LSD in Egypt through retrospective and survey studies to point out the possible hazards of this serious disease. The 2006–2018 passive surveillance data were obtained from OIE-Wahis. A survey was conducted on 326 cattle, collected from 40 villages in 2017, using a structured questionnaire. Between 2006 and 2018, a total of 577 positive LSD outbreaks were reported. For spatial distribution, the Delta region showed the highest significant prevalence of 88% in the 2006 outbreak. Afterwards, Upper Egypt recorded the highest LSD prevalence between 2014 and 2018. The temporal distribution showed an alternative seasonal prevalence of LSD. In the cross-sectional study, the Delta had the highest prevalence, followed by Upper Egypt. Between the seasons, autumn had the highest prevalence followed by winter. Animals over the age of two years had the highest prevalence of risk factors. Dairy animals had a high significant prevalence. Housing animals in the open, the presence of farms near markets and repeated visits to markets, all had a high prevalence. The abundance of biting-flies significantly increased the prevalence. Almost all of the farmers were significantly unaware of the disease. The absence of periodic cleaning, animal isolation, and proper carcass disposal, all significantly increased LSD prevalence especially in unvaccinated animals. In conclusion, the retrospective and cross-sectional studies showed that LSD is an endemic disease with both spatial and temporal distributions. In addition, the survey pointed out the husbandry and biosecurity breaches that magnify LSD prevalence. Therefore, raising disease awareness and applying strategic prevention and control measures are the practical pillars against LSD

Pharmacogenetics: data, concepts and tools to improve drug discovery and drug treatment

Variation in the human genome is a most important cause of variable response to drugs and other xenobiotics. Susceptibility to almost all diseases is determined to some extent by genetic variation. Driven by the advances in molecular biology, pharmacogenetics has evolved within the past 40 years from a niche discipline to a major driving force of clinical pharmacology, and it is currently one of the most actively pursued disciplines in applied biomedical research in general. Nowadays we can assess more than 1,000,000 polymorphisms or the expression of more than 25,000 genes in each participant of a clinical study – at affordable costs. This has not yet significantly changed common therapeutic practices, but a number of physicians are starting to consider polymorphisms, such as those in CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, TPMT and VKORC1, in daily medical practice. More obviously, pharmacogenetics has changed the practices and requirements in preclinical and clinical drug research; large clinical trials without a pharmacogenomic add-on appear to have become the minority. This review is about how the discipline of pharmacogenetics has evolved from the analysis of single proteins to current approaches involving the broad analyses of the entire genome and of all mRNA species or all metabolites and other approaches aimed at trying to understand the entire biological system. Pharmacogenetics and genomics are becoming substantially integrated fields of the profession of clinical pharmacology, and education in the relevant methods, knowledge and concepts form an indispensable part of the clinical pharmacology curriculum and the professional life of pharmacologists from early drug discovery to pharmacovigilance

Excimer laser treatment combined with riboflavin ultraviolet-A (UVA) collagen crosslinking (CXL) in keratoconus: a literature review

Purpose!#!To review the clinical outcome of keratoconus patients after excimer laser treatment with combined riboflavin UV-A collagen crosslinking (CXL) treatment was reviewed in light of the UDVA, CDVA and HOA.!##!Methods!#!Following a PubMed-based literature review of studies on excimer laser treatment with combined riboflavin UV-A CXL published between 2009 and 2018, peer-reviewed English-written studies were evaluated using the GRADE approach ( www.gradeworkinggroup.org ). The current review focused on the change in the (un)corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA; CDVA) and higher-order aberrations (HOA) as well as the prevalence of postoperative complications.!##!Results!#!Five studies with a total of 573 eyes were included, thereby reporting on 479 eyes were treated with the aforementioned combination therapy. The control group consisted of 94 eyes in total. Changes between pre- and postoperative CDVA and/or UDVA were statistically significant in all five studies after at least a 24-month follow-up period for the combined excimer laser-assisted CXL treatment in comparison with the CXL-only treatment option. Three studies described statistically significant reduction in the number of total HOA, in particular, those related to coma and spherical aberration. Corneal haze was reported in four studies, but the condition was successfully treated in all cases.!##!Conclusion!#!Current studies suggest that CDVA, UDVA and HOA in low-to-moderate keratoconic patients improved in a combined treatment without sacrificing biomechanical stability of the cornea. However, long-term results are needed, as the studies in our review have a follow-up period of 68 months or less

Preparation of sustained release apremilast-loaded PLGA nanoparticles: in vitro characterization and in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats

Md Khalid Anwer,1 Muqtader Mohammad,1 Essam Ezzeldin,2,3 Farhat Fatima,1 Ahmed Alalaiwe,1 Muzaffar Iqbal2,3 1Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; 3Bioavailability Laboratory, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia Background: Apremilast (APM) is a novel, orally administered small molecule drug approved for treatment of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Due to its low solubility and permeability, it is classified as a class IV drug according to BCS classification. Dose titration is recommended during APM treatment due to its tolerability and twice-daily dosing regimen issues. Materials and Methods: In this study, three different APM-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (F1–F3) were prepared by single emulsion and evaporation method. Based on particle size, PDI, zeta potential (ZP), entrapment efficiency (%EE), drug loading (%DL), and spectral characterization, the nanoparticles (F3) were optimized. The F3 nanoparticles were further evaluated for in vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies in rats. Results: The optimized nanoparticles (F3) had particles size 307.3±8.5 nm with a low PDI value 0.317, ZP of -43.4±2.6 mV, EE of 61.1±1.9% and DL of 1.9±0.1%. The in vitro release profile showed a sustained release pattern of F3 nanoparticles of APM. The pharmacokinetic results showed 2.25 times increase in bio-availability of F3 nanoparticles compared to normal APM suspension. Moreover, significant increase in half-life and mean residence time confirms long-term retention of F3 nanoparticles. Conclusion: Bioavailability enhancement along-with long-term retention of the APM-loaded PLGA nanoparticles might be helpful for the once-daily regimen treatment. Keywords: apremilast, Poly(D,L-lactide-coglycolide), nanoparticles, bioavailability, sustained releas

Mercury Speciation and Distribution in an Egyptian Natural Gas Processing Plant

Mohamed F. Ezzeldin is very grateful for the financial support provided by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Egypt), for providing the samples and all logistics by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (Egypt) and the University of Aberdeen (UK) is also acknowledged for the support of this PhD project.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

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Mercury Speciation and Distribution in an Egyptian Natural Gas Processing Plant

Unprocessed petroleum hydrocarbons often contain high concentrations of mercury (Hg), which can severely damage the metal components of a processing plant and pose a health risk to the workers and the natural environment. Although Hg removal units can significantly reduce the Hg concentration in the export products, they are often installed in the final stage of the processing plant, thus failing to protect the production facilities. In this study, Hg distribution within a natural gas processing plant was studied to identify the most effective place for a Hg removal unit. Additionally, the impact of sampling container materials and their acidification was evaluated, and Hg species in the condensate were quantified. Total Hg concentration was significantly higher in all samples stored in glass in comparison to that with plastic containers. However, the acidification effect of the containers was more pronounced for Hg in nonpolar solutions. Interestingly, the assessment of Hg distribution within the gas plant showed that the export gas is being enriched in Hg, whose concentration rose from 1.25 to 4.11 μg/Sm³ during the processing steps. The second stage separator was identified as the source of excess Hg, which partitioned from the liquid phase of condensate to the gas phase as a result of reduced operational pressure and temperature. The dominant Hg species found in the analyzed gas condensates were elemental Hg (Hg⁰) and inorganic Hg with the methylmercury fraction comprising up to 18%. However, it was also found that the % fraction of individual Hg species varied along the plant units most likely as a result of Hg⁰ migration to the export gas. Therefore, to protect all treatment facilities from Hg contamination, the Hg removal unit should be installed after the second stage compressor